The Air India Express aircraft split into two after the mishap at Kozhikode airport on Friday.
Kerala Air India Express plane crash Live news updates: As the death toll in the Air India Express flight crash at Kerala’s Kozhikode airport touched 18, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday announced an interim relief of Rs 10 lakh for the kin of each of the deceased, Rs 2 lakh for the seriously injured and Rs 50,000 for those who sustained minor injuries. Additionally, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also announced a relief of Rs 10 lakh for the deceased.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), meanwhile, directed its personnel to go into quarantine as a precautionary measure after at least two passengers of the flight tested positive for Covid-19, PTI reported. Earlier in the day, the Kerala Health Department urged all passengers and those who assisted in the rescue operations to get tested as well as go into quarantine to prevent the spread of the virus.
As many as 18 people were killed in the Air India Express flight crash at Kerala’s Kozhikode airport on Friday after the plane skidded off the runway and fell into a 35-feet valley before splitting. The pilot-in-command Captain Deepak Sathe and his co-pilot Akhilesh Kumar were among those killed onboard the Dubai-Calicut Air India Express aircraft carrying 190 passengers as part of the Vande Bharat Mission.
HELPLINE NUMBERS: 0495-2376901 (Helpline number for relatives of passengers); 0483-2719493 (Control room number at Kozhikode airport); 0097165970303 (Control room number at Sharjah airport in UAE); 009710565463903 (Control room number at Dubai airport); 009710543090572 (Control room number at Dubai airport)
Airports Authority of India (AAI) Chairman Arvind Singh on Saturday said "corrective action" will be taken after receiving the probe report on the Air India Express plane crash at Kozhikode airport. Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is probing the accident at the Kozhikode airport that has left at least 18 people dead, including the two pilots of the plane. "This report will tell us about all the issues... we are awaiting the inquiry report and then we will take corrective action," Singh was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
The black box of the ill-fated Air India Express plane that crashed at Karipur International Airport in Kozhikode has been recovered and will be taken to Delhi for further investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, said an official of aviation regulator DGCA on Saturday. The digital flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder jointly make up the "black box" in an aircraft. PTI
"Deeply disheartened" over the news of the flight crash at Kozhikode in Kerala, Tamil Nadu chief minister K Palaniswami today said in a statement: "I am deeply disheartened to hear the news of flight crash at Kozhikode. I pray to God to give enough strength to the families of victims and for the speedy recovery of the injured."
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan and Governor Arif Mohammad Khan at the crash site in Kozhikode on Saturday.
Speaking to reporters, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said: "There were 190 people on board the aircraft. Out of them, 18 lost their lives. Around 149 people were admitted to hospitals out of which 23 have been discharged. A few patients are in critical condition, three of them are on ventilators. We visited the site of crash and two black boxes have been recovered.The precise cause of the mishap will be determined when we analyse the data in those black boxes."
The Kerala government also announced a Rs 10 lakh compensation to the families of those who died in the crash on Friday. "The state government has decided to provide a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the families of those who have lost their lives. The medical expenses of those under treatment will be taken over by the state government," CM Vijayan told reporters. "Out of the 14 adults, seven are male and others female. Currently, 149 people are in various hospitals of Malappuram and Kozhikode, out of which 23 are in critical condition. Earlier, 23 were discharged after being provided initial medical assistance," he added.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan today praised the 'fast response' of the local people and officials in being the first to reach the aircraft crash site to rescue passengers, braving inclement weather and Covid-19 fears, "which made all the difference." "Yesterday, the fast response of local people and officials made all the difference. They braved bad weather and COVID fears to rescue their fellow beings. The long queues of people who wanted to donate blood was just one example," Vijayan was quoted as saying by PTI.
The broken Air India Express aircraft at Kozhikode airport on Saturday. (Express photo)
The broken Air India Express aircraft at Kozhikode airport on Saturday. (Express photo)
The broken Air India Express aircraft at Kozhikode airport on Saturday. (Express photo)
The broken Air India Express aircraft at Kozhikode airport on Saturday. (Express photo)
Pilot-in-command Deepak Sathe was an experienced Boeing 737-800 aircraft pilot, Air India Express said today. It added that the family members of the deceased were escorted to a Kozhikode hospital where his mortal remains were kept for post-mortem. The airline also said that the family of deceased co-pilot Akhilesh Kumar was also escorted from Delhi to Kozhikode.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri today said that a probe into the incident is underway. He also announced an interim relief of Rs 10 lakh interim relief for the kin of each of the deceased, Rs 2 lakh for the seriously injured and Rs 50,000 for those who suffered minor injuries.
The Central Industrial Security Force on Saturday directed its personnel to go into quarantine as a precautionary measure after at least two passengers of the Air India Express flight that crashed at Kozhikode tested positive for Covid-19, PTI reported. The CISF said it was the “first responder” to rescue passengers on Friday as its Assistant Sub Inspector Ajit Singh was on runway patrol when the flight from Dubai with 190 people onboard overshot the table top runway, fell into a 35-foot valley and broke into two. “We are identifying our personnel, who rescued the passengers who have tested positive for coronavirus,” CISF Special Director General (Airports) M A Ganapathy told PTI.
The Centre today said an investigation is on to ascertain various aspects of the Air India Express flight crash at Karipur airport. Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan, who arrived in Kozhikode this morning from New Delhi on the directive of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was briefed by the officials of Air India and Airport Authority of India on how the accident had occurred. "Visited the crash site at #Calicut Airport. Officials of @airindiain and AAI briefed on how the accident had occurred. The investigation is on to ascertain various aspects of the crash," the minister tweeted.
One of the two relief flights that arrived at Kozhikode airport on Saturday.
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan and Governor Arif Mohammad Khan arrived at Kozhikode today.
Digital flight data recorder, cockpit voice recorder recovered from AI Express plane at Kozhikode crash site: DGCA official told PTI.
One of the 18 passengers, who died in the Kozhikode mishap on Friday, has tested positive for Covid-19. Higher Education Minister K T Jaleel told the media today, PTI reported. She said that thesamples of the passenger, Sudheer Varyath (45), were sent for testing and it has returned positive for the disease.
Aviation regulator DGCA had issued a show-cause notice to the director of the Kozhikode airport on July 11 last year after it found "various critical safety lapses", PTI reported. The DGCA pointed to cracks on the runway, water stagnation and excessive rubber deposits among other lapses in its show-cause notice, officials said. It also held an inspection after an Air India Express flight coming from Dammam in Saudi Arabia had a "tail strike" while landing at the Calicut (Kozhikode) airport on July 2 last year, an official said. "After the July 2 incident last year, the DGCA inspected the airport on July 4 and July 5 and found various critical safety lapses," said a senior DGCA official. On July 11, Kozhikode airport director K Srinivasa Rao was issued a show cause notice, added another DGCA official. However, it is not clear if any action was taken against Rao after the show-cause was issued.